Perhaps he will be the next Third Prince.
Thinking of this, Li Youran couldn't help but shake her head and smile bitterly, thinking to herself that although these princes all seemed promising, very few of them were truly capable. If she had to choose, she favored the Crown Prince the most.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince in the palace began to feel anxious. The people he had sent out had not returned for a long time, and the Emperor showed no reaction, as if everything had been expected.
“Since the third brother dared to force the palace, he must have made thorough preparations. These underground passages in the palace are secret passages to outsiders, but if you brothers want to investigate them thoroughly, you can certainly do so. The people you sent out have probably already been captured by the third brother, so there’s no need to wait any longer.”
Upon hearing the Emperor's words, the Crown Prince frowned deeply. Clearly, he had made a basic mistake: he had underestimated the Third Prince's secret passage. What he knew, the Third Prince might also know.
Just then, the sound of breaking tiles came from the roof of the palace. The Crown Prince's first reaction was to stand in front of the Emperor and look up at the roof. He saw that the roof had broken open and Tang Lei was falling from the sky.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
Tang Lei knelt on one knee, holding a long sword, and bowed to the Emperor, ignoring the Crown Prince.
"Your Majesty, I have arrived too late to save you; I deserve to die a thousand deaths."
"Rise."
The Emperor nodded and waved to Tang Lei.
Although the Emperor did not have a deep impression of Tang Lei, he knew that he was a general whom the Crown Prince had requested to be appointed. Because of his low rank, he did not pay much attention to him. He did not expect that Tang Lei would risk his life to come and save him today, and he was deeply moved.
"Your Majesty, the troops of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince have arrived to rescue you and are currently engaged in fierce fighting with the soldiers of the Third Prince outside the palace."
From the moment Tang Lei entered the palace until now, he has ignored the Crown Prince and spoke to the Emperor in a tone that seemed to obey the Emperor's orders.
"Your Highness, how do you manage to mobilize troops while you are in the palace?"
Although the Emperor was very satisfied, Tang Lei, despite being someone promoted by the Crown Prince, was extremely loyal to him, but still harbored doubts about the Crown Prince.
After all, the Crown Prince was alone in the palace and had not gone out. Could it be that he was hiding something?
"Father, to be honest, after Cheng entered the Eastern Palace, I was worried that something might happen, so I put the tiger tally on Princess Jiahe's hand, just in case."
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, the Emperor frowned slightly. How could such an important item as the Tiger Tally be easily handed over to a woman?
"Although Princess Jiahe is a woman, she has a strong sense of manhood, and is down-to-earth, resourceful and wise. The reason I did this is because she is someone I can trust outside the palace."
Before the Emperor could ask a question, the Crown Prince spoke first.
Seeing this, the Emperor pondered for a moment but said nothing more. Although it was somewhat inappropriate for the Crown Prince to hand the tiger tally to a woman, it was also a case of someone unintentionally keeping the tiger tally elsewhere in case of emergency.
After an unknown amount of time, it was already broad daylight. Li Youran leaned against a pillar of the bell tower, raised the binoculars again, and looked towards the palace.
It was clear that the Third Prince's forces were gradually losing ground, and General Huang led his cavalry towards the Third Prince's core group.
The Fourth Prince was not to be outdone, heading straight for the Third Prince. Li Youran saw that they had reached the final stage, which was about seizing credit. She wondered whether the Third Prince would be defeated by the Fourth Prince or by General Huang.
As for the outcome, Li Youran didn't care, because no matter what, what the Fourth Prince did this time was a thankless task, and the failure of the Third Prince's coup was already a foregone conclusion.
"These Imperial Guards have remained on the defensive and have not launched an attack, indicating that the attack has nothing to do with them. His Majesty is a meticulous and careful man, and naturally does not trust anyone. He has prepared for the worst in everything, and it is impossible that he did not arrange manpower in case of any unforeseen circumstances. However, no troops have been seen appearing at the moment, which shows that His Majesty has not mobilized those troops. It is likely that he had already anticipated that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince would quell this dispute."
Just then, Tian Alang walked in while talking.
Li Youran turned around and was stunned when she saw Tian Alang.
In just a few months, Tian Alang seemed to have grown up overnight, transforming from an ignorant boy into a mature young man.
"Greetings, Princess. It's been a long time. I hope you've been well."
Tian Alang bowed to Li Youran. He looked up at Li Youran and saw that her eyes were bright and piercing, completely different from her previous affectionate gaze. It was clear that he had now completely given up any improper thoughts about Li Youran and was simply grateful to her.
"I haven't been able to send a wedding gift to Young Master Tian yet, but I'll make it up to him later."
"The princess is the matchmaker for my wife and me, so there is no need for a gift."
Upon hearing Tian Alang's words, Li Youran smiled slightly and did not continue the topic.
Seeing that the coup was a foregone conclusion, Li Youran handed the binoculars to Tian Alang, instructing him to keep an eye on the palace, and then went up and down the Bell Tower.
"Princess, you are too tired and need to rest."
Xiao Hong followed Li Youran with a puzzled look, but Li Youran turned left and right and ended up in a crowded teahouse.
"Xiao Hong, go and find me the most eloquent person in the teahouse, and tell them there's a generous reward for them."
Just as Xiao Hong was wondering what Li Youran was going to do, Li Youran suddenly took out a purse from his bosom and said to Xiao Hong.
Seeing Li Youran's serious expression, Xiao Hong didn't dare to delay. She hurriedly observed who in the teahouse was talking nonsense and who couldn't shut up. Before long, she led four people of different heights and builds to Li Youran's private room.
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